Alternative Ways To Keep Fit Without Going To The Gym

If, unlike me, you find it difficult to meet your weekly exercise quota you may be interested to hear that there are many fun ways to get fit without ever actually stepping foot in a gym. Throughout the summer there are so many activities that you can do to keep on the move and keep active that usually mean your burning the calories without even realising. I know a lot of people my age that really struggle to get into the swing of things when it comes to exercise because it's too boring or they just don't enjoy it and so today I thought I would write up a little post on how to exercise without exercising. There are so many ways that you can keep fit and active without going to the gym and running aimlessly on a treadmill for ages and that can actually make staying in shape fun and entertaining and I thought I would share these with you today.

Activities along the lines of dancing and roller-blading, skate boarding and going for long walks are all ways that you can get your fitness in without actually thinking too much about the fact that you're doing the dreaded 'exercise'. Believe it or not, for most of my life (before the last couple of years where I've been fitness crazy) I hated every aspect of exercising. In PE, I made sure that I was always excused or doing the bare minimum (unless it was a Summer game of Rounders of course) and for sports day, I always made sure I was on the media committee taking the photos instead of actually taking part. I know with the kind of posts that I write on here now, it might be a little difficult to imagine me not into fitness at all, but I literally tried to avoid doing sport or going to the gym at every cost! It was a really big shock to me when I figured out I actually did love working out, but for all of those years before hand, it really was a struggle to get me to do much at all.

Getting out and about in the summer with a friend was always a way to get me exercising without realising it when I was younger and with things like skate boards, scooters and bikes we managed to have a good time and still get in some much needed cardio without even realising it! Nowadays I'm all about getting in the gym and doing some serious HIIT or Bootcamp workouts, but getting out for a half an hour on a skateboard or scooter can be a serious workout too - even if you're really bad at it like I am! Just trying to keep yourself balanced on a skateboard is amazing for your core and pushing yourself around on a scooter or even on rollerblades can get your heart rate pumping and you doing a cardio workout without the boring feeling of being trapped in a gym. I feel like taking the photos today for this post has been a workout in itself trying to stay still on that skateboard! Other really nice summer activities like heading off on a bike ride with friends or taking your dog for a long walk can also be a great workout; a little more conventional in terms of getting exercise, bike riding and walking is something that gets your muscles working and your heart racing without being boring or stationary on a machine. Myself and my friend Rhiannon often go for long walks whilst we have our catch ups as it's a great way to get some extra exercise in, have a good old gossip away from anyone else and also just spend some time in the countryside. I've actually got another post about walking as a form of exercise coming soon so keep following via Bloglovin for that one!

There are so many things you can do that without really thinking about it can be a form of exercise and you don't have to even step foot in the gym to do them. If you're really not into the idea of exercising at all then or even getting out doing the kinds of activities I've mentioned above then just going out for a night out and dancing your cares away (especially in a pair of killer heels) can be such a good form of exercise - as long as you're not drinking your weight in calories too! I really hope that this post has inspired a couple of you to get out and just enjoy keeping fit a bit more. It's not something a lot of people really think about when thinking about how you can keep fit as there is a massive stigma on 'going to the gym' being the only thing you can really do to stay in shape, but there are so many things that you can do to make it fun. Let me know in the comments if you're going to try out any of the suggestions above to try and keep a little fitter this summer, I'd love to know what kind of things you do to stay in shape if you're not a fan of the conventional ways!

Thanks so much to SkateHut who have kindly sponsored this blog post today. Make sure you take a peep over at their site as they have lots of equipment such as scooters, skate boards and roller blades that could be perfect for getting you out and 'exercising' this summer!